In November 1985, the association was founded under the name Dampfbahn Kochertal eV (later DBK Historische Bahn eV ) and is based in Sulzbach-Laufen (Schwäbisch Hall district). In May 1986, the association commenced museum railway operations on the 18-kilometer line from Gaildorf West to Untergröningen with a steam locomotive (80 106), five two- and three-axle passenger cars, and a boxcar. In the following years, the number of locomotives and cars increased. Then, as now, the guiding principle was to preserve historic railway vehicles and infrastructure (tracks and buildings) as technical monuments for future generations. The primary focus is on vehicles originating from the Esslingen Machine Factory.
Image: Steam locomotive (type: 1'C1'h2t) built in 1937
(c) DBK Historic Railway Association
(c) DBK Historic Railway Association
Objective
Since its founding, the DBK Historic Railway Association has been specifically seeking to include vehicles from the Esslingen Machine Factory (the main supplier to the railways in the Kingdom of Württemberg and, in later years, to the Stuttgart Reichsbahn Directorate) in its collection. Today (as of 2013), the DBK's holdings comprise five steam locomotives (50 3031, 50 3545, 52 8077, 64 419, and 80 106) and four diesel locomotives (V60 ???, V36 510, Kö 0186, and V20), all originating from the Esslingen Machine Factory workshops. In consistent pursuit of these goals, the DBK Historic Railway Association (formerly the Kochertal Steam Railway Association) has, in the past, divested itself of steam locomotives from other manufacturers that were temporarily part of its collection. These were: 50 3576 (Skoda - now Wiesbaden-Bad Schwallbach), Anna 3 or Lok 3 (Henschel D600, ex Alsdorf Anna 3 - now Losheim Railway Museum), 94 1184 (Schwartzkopf - now Railway Enthusiasts in Thuringia) and 52 8186 (Jung - now Austrian Society for Railway History). The same applies to the diesel locomotives. Here, the association parted ways with a Gmeinder shunting locomotive. Only the Köf 6808 (Krupp) and Lok 5 (Henschel) remain in the collection as work and shunting locomotives.
Image: Steam locomotive (type: 1'Eh2) Year of manufacture 1942
Regular and charter trips
The DBK Historic Railway Association regularly conducts steam train rides on the Swabian Forest Railway line.
Furthermore, an entire special train can be chartered specifically for a company outing, birthday, or wedding. Numerous options are available. The only requirement is that the destination must be accessible by rail.
Image: Locomotive (Type: B-dh DHG240B) Year of manufacture 1965
(c) DBK Historic Railway Association
address
DBK Historic Railway Association
Office
Horaffenstraße 32, 74564 Crailsheim
address